Gal 5:22 Fruit of the Spirit: Love  © 2016 WF Cobb Truthbase.net DailyTruthbase.Blogspot.com

Agape=God's love for man (Jn 3:16) self-sacrificially doing what is in another's best interest. Cf: philos, storge, eros.

Phil 1:9 I pray your love may abound still more and more by means of epi-knowledge and all discernment,  (remember: Jn 15 abide)

Rm 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be philo-storge affectionate to one another with brotherly love,

1Pt 1:22 purified your souls by obeying the truth thru the Spirit eis sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart

Gal 3:5 Spirit...hearing w/ faith 5:1 Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 5 we thru the Spirit Rm 8 eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 in Christ Jesus...faith working through love. 13 You brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but thru love serve one another.14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! 16 Walk by the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 

Serve=meeting needs=LOVE Rm 6:6  Knowing that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 1Pt 4:10 minister/serve (grace) to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Self-centered 19 works of the flesh are evident, which are...21 those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Other-centered 22 fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, benevolence/usefulness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 meekness, self-control Act 24:25 2Pt 1:6 Against such there is no law. 24 those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also march by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 6:1

Mk 12:30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart decisions, with all your soul m/w/e, with all your mind discern-Eph, and with all your strength.'  31 The second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.

1Cor 13:2...but have not love, I am nothing. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Loyalty: Hesed (covenantal faithfulness) to God's reputation (glory) and agenda, depending only on Him for our needs and desires

Obedience: we can't have a rlshp with God apart from total obedience to His will, which leaves no room for indulging our desires.

Volitional Valuing: we must choose (synthetic happiness) to value what God values as our highest good and action/attitude determiner 

Exclusive Emotional Intimacy: we are unfaithful when we seek our needs from, or set our affections on. anything created/temporal

Loyalty to others flows out of God's Hesed (love & forgiveness) toward us Col 3:12 holy and beloved, put on compassion, goodness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Jn 15 Rm 12:10

Other-centeredness  Phil 2:3 do nothing thru selfish ambition or vainglory, but in humility let each esteem others better/more important than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.  Eph 5:29 nourish cherish

Volitional Valuing: we must choose to value what God values as our highest good and action/attitude determiner=the benefit of others

1Pt 1:22 you purified your souls in obeying the truth thru the Spirit for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart

Edification Rm 14:19 15:2 each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification 3 as Christ did not please Himself Heb 10:24-25

Eph 4:15 speaking the truth in love may grow..16 edify itself in love 25 speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another cf Body 

Serving and Sharing Gal 5:13 called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but thru love serve one another.

1Jn 2:3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

4:7 Beloved, let us love one another...8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 11 if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 16...God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 19 We love Him because He first loved us. 

20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Questions for Reflection/Discussion/Response:

1. What do you remember of the prerequisites of Fruitbearing? How are you abiding? How has your mind been set on the Truth of the Spirit?

2. What can prevent/hinder/grieve/quench the Holy Spirit from flowing thru your life to produced God glorifying fruit?

3. How do/should you love and serve others? Are you meeting real needs for their benefit, or meeting your own needs to feel good about yourself?

4. What role do your will and values play in loving others as Christ has loved you? Is love a feeling or a choice/decision? 

5. If someone doesn't think/feel you're acting in love, what should you do? Do most people think/feel that God always loves them?